    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [October 28, 2004]
    [Pages 2791-2798]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Dayton, Ohio
    October 28, 2004

        The President. Thank you all. Thanks for coming. Thanks for coming
    out today. You're lifting my spirits. I'm honored you're here. I have
    come back to the great city of Dayton, Ohio, to ask for your vote and
    ask for your help. We have a duty in our country to vote. I'm asking for
    you to remind your friends and neighbors of that duty. We have an
    obligation in a free society to show up to the polls.

        I've come to Dayton to ask you to get our fellow Republicans to
    vote, to find independents to go to the polls, and don't overlook
    discerning Democrats like Mayor McKelvey
    from the great city of Youngstown, Ohio. And when you get them headed to
    the polls, remind them, if they want a safer America, a stronger
    America, and a better America for all of us, to put me and Dick
    Cheney back in office.
        My regret is that Laura is not with me today.
        Audience members. Aw-w-w!
        The President. It's obviously your regret as well. [Laughter] So we
    were in the seventh grade together at San Jacinto Junior High in
    Midland, Texas. And then we became reacquainted when she was a public school librarian. And I asked her to marry
    me, and she said, ``Fine, but make me a promise.'' I said, ``Okay, what
    is it?'' She said, ``Promise me I'll never have to give a political
    speech.'' [Laughter] I said, ``Okay, you got a deal.'' Fortunately, she
    is not holding me to that promise. She is giving a lot of speeches, and
    when she does, the American people see a strong, a warm, a compassionate
    First Lady. I love her dearly. And, as a matter of fact, just as we
    pulled into the parking lot I got a phone call from three other members

    [[Page 2792]]

    of my family. Barbara and Jenna, our twins, are out campaigning, and guess who they're
    with? They're with old Number 41. That
    would be former President Bush. And they send their best to the good
    people of Dayton, Ohio.
        And they send their best to my buddy, the Senator from Ohio, George
    Voinovich. I tell you, you're lucky to
    have a man of this caliber serving you in the United States Senate. What
    a fine American, and I hope you put him back in office with a resounding
    vote. Plus he married well.
        I want to thank my friend George
    McKelvey, the--from Youngstown, Ohio. We had a rally there yesterday. A
    lot of people showed up to see the Mayor. [Laughter] They wanted to see
    their leader. I'm proud that George has stood up by me--by side--side by
    side with me. There's a lot of Democrats that are for my candidacy.
    There's a lot of people around this country who know that the Democrat
    Party has left them. And I welcome every Democrat's support. You are
    welcome on our team.
        I want to thank the other United States Senator from Ohio for
    joining us today. Mike DeWine and his wife,
    Fran, are with us. Thanks, Mike, for coming.
    I know you're proud of Congressman Mike Turner. Mike, you're doing a great job. And my friend John
    Boehner is with us, Congressman John
    Boehner--and his wife, Debbie--the author of
    the No Child Left Behind Act in the House of Representatives.
        I want to thank Chief Justice Tom Moyer
    for joining us today. Mr. Judge, thanks for being here. I want to thank
    your mayor, the mayor of Trotwood, Ohio,
    for joining us today. Thanks for coming, Don. I'm proud you're here. I
    want to thank all the local and State officials, all the candidates.
        But most of all, I want to thank you all. I want to thank the
    grassroots activists, the people putting up the signs, the people making
    the phone calls, the people doing all the hard work. I want to thank you
    for what you have done, and I want to thank you for what you're going to
    do. With your help, with your hard work in turning out that vote, there
    is no doubt in my mind we'll carry Ohio again and win a great victory on
    November the 2d.
        Five days from today, the people of America will go to the polls.
    We're choosing the leader of our country at a time of great consequence
    in our world. We're at war against a terrorist enemy unlike any we have
    seen. We have much more to do to win a decisive victory in the war on
    terror. The most solemn duty of the American President is to protect the
    American people. If America shows uncertainty or weakness in these
    troubled times, the world will drift toward tragedy. This is not going
    to happen on my watch.
        Our economy is in the midst of change and challenge. It can be a
    time of great opportunity if we have the right policies to strengthen
    rather than stall our economic recovery. We have much more to do to
    improve our children's education, to make health care more accessible
    and affordable, to strengthen our Social Security for our children and
    our grandchildren. And I'm ready for the job.
        My 4 years as your President have confirmed some lessons and have
    taught some new ones. A President must have a vision in order to lead
    this country. You cannot lead if you don't know where you're going. A
    President must set clear goals and bring people together to achieve
    those goals. A President must surround himself with smart and capable
    people who are willing to express their opinion. I have surrounded
    myself with smart and capable people.
        A President must make America's priorities crystal-clear, especially
    in an uncertain world. I've learned to expect the unexpected, because
    history can deliver sudden horror from a soft autumn sky. I have found
    you better know what you believe or risk being tossed to-and-fro by the
    flattery of friends or the chorus of critics. I've been grateful for the
    lessons I've learned

    [[Page 2793]]

    from my parents: Respect every person; do your best; live every day to
    its fullest. And I've been strengthened by my faith and humbled by its
    reminder that my life is part of a much bigger story.
        I have learned firsthand how hard it is to send young men and women
    into battle, even when the cause is right. I've been reminded that the
    world looks to America for leadership and that it is crucial for the
    American President to be consistent. I have learned America's President
    must base decisions on principle, core convictions from which you will
    never waver. The issues vary; the challenges are different every day in
    this job. Tactics and strategy must be flexible, but a President's
    convictions must be steady and true. As Presidents from Abraham Lincoln
    to Franklin Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan so clearly demonstrated, a
    President cannot blow in the wind. A President has to make the tough
    decisions and stand by them.
        The President must not follow the path of the latest polls. The
    President must lead based on conviction and conscience. Especially at a
    time of war, mixed signals only confuse our friends, embolden our
    enemies. Mixed signals are the wrong signals for an American President
    to send.
        When America chooses a President, you choose not just a set of
    positions on issues of philosophy or record; you choose a human being
    who comes with strengths and weaknesses. One of the things I've learned
    about the Presidency is, whatever your strengths are, you're going to
    need them, and whatever your shortcomings are, people are going to
    notice them. [Laughter] Sometimes I'm a little too blunt. I get that
    from my mother. Sometimes I mangle the English
    language. [Laughter] I get that from my dad. But Americans have learned this, that even when you
    disagree with me, at least you know what I believe and where I stand.
    And you cannot say that about my opponent.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Senator Kerry has taken a
    lot of different positions, but he rarely takes a stand. He has run a
    campaign of contradictions. I think it's fair to say that consistency
    has not been the Senator's long suit. [Laughter] He was for the PATRIOT
    Act and the No Child Left Behind Act--until he was against key
    provisions of both of them. He voted to authorize the use of force in
    Iraq, then said I was wrong to use that force. When I sent troops into
    Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power, he
    said it was the right decision. Now he says it was the ``wrong war.''
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. During one of our debates, he said Saddam Hussein was a
    threat. Then a couple of answers later, he said there was no threat in
    Iraq. Just last year, American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq needed $87
    billion to help them complete their missions. This was vital support.
    First, Senator Kerry said, ``It would be irresponsible to vote against
    the troops.'' He said that on national TV. Then he did that
    irresponsible thing and he voted against the funding for our troops.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. You might remember perhaps the most famous quote of
    the 2004 campaign. When they asked him about
    his vote, he said, ``I actually did vote for the 87 billion, before I
    voted against it.'' He's given several explanations of that vote since
    then, but perhaps one of the most interesting is, he said, ``The whole
    thing was a complicated matter.'' There's nothing complicated about
    supporting our troops in combat.
        I will always stand with our troops. I want to thank the military
    families who have joined us today. And I want to thank the veterans who
    have set such a great example to those who wear the uniform.
        Now, you have to wonder why the Senator
    has taken such different positions at different places and different
    times in this campaign. Well, let me give you two reasons. It's
    important for the people of

    [[Page 2794]]

    Ohio to understand this. Senator Kerry changes positions because he's
    willing to say anything he thinks that will help him politically at the
    time. And he does so to try to obscure a 20-year trail of out-of-the-
    mainstream votes that leads to an inescapable conclusion: Senator Kerry
    has been on the wrong side of the defining national security and
    domestic policy debates of the last 2 years. He can run, but he cannot
    hide.
         Several times during the course of the campaign, the Senator has changed his positions for political convenience.
    The Senator recognized Saddam Hussein was a
    threat and authorized force to remove him, until his Democratic
    opponent, Howard Dean, began gaining ground as
    an antiwar candidate. The Senator decided he had to appeal to that wing
    of his party, so he voted against the troops--after voting to put them
    in risk in the first place.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. The Senator was all for
    removing Saddam Hussein when we went into
    Baghdad, and he was very supportive when we captured him. After all, the
    polls showed that he was--that that was very popular at the time. People
    liked that. When the going got tough and when we faced determined
    opposition and things weren't quite so popular, the Senator suddenly
    wasn't quite so supportive. In fact, he changed his mind entirely,
    saying that Iraq was the ``wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong
    time.''
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. What does that lack of conviction say to our troops
    who are risking their lives in this vital cause? Think about what that
    says to our allies who have joined our cause. Think about what that
    says, that lack of conviction, say to our enemies, that if you make
    things uncomfortable, if you stir up trouble, John Kerry will back off. And that's a very dangerous signal in the
    world in which we live.
        Just this week Senator Kerry showed his
    willingness to put politics ahead of facts and the truth. He criticized
    our military's handling of explosives in Iraq, when his own advisers
    admitted he didn't know what had happened. His spokesman has now had to
    acknowledge that the explosives may have been moved before our troops
    arrived. A President needs to get all the facts before jumping to
    politically motivated conclusions. The Senator's willingness to trade
    principle for political convenience makes it clear that John Kerry is
    the wrong man for the wrong job at the wrong time.
        There's another reason the Senator changes
    positions. He doesn't want you to know where he stands. He has a
    history. He doesn't want you to know where he really stands on national
    security because he has a record of weakness. When Ronald Reagan was
    confronting the Soviet Union at the height of the cold war, Senator
    Kerry proposed cancellation of critical defense weapons systems and said
    that President Reagan's policy of peace through strength was making
    America less safe.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and President Ronald Reagan was right.
        When former President Bush led a
    coalition against Saddam Hussein in 1991,
    Senator Kerry voted against using force to
    liberate Kuwait.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and former President Bush was right.
        In 1994, just one year after the first bombing of the World Trade
    Center, Senator Kerry proposed massive cuts in
    America's intelligence budget, cuts so extreme that even his
    Massachusetts colleague, Ted Kennedy,
    opposed them. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and--we've
    got to be fair--Senator Kennedy was right.
        When you are one Senator among 100, you can be wrong without
    consequence. But the President's opinion decides the security and the
    fate of the American people.

    [[Page 2795]]

        We have a different point of view when it comes to your security.
    Senator Kerry says September the 11th did not
    change him much. That's what he said.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. And his policies make that clear. The Senator says the war on terror is primarily a law enforcement
    and intelligence gathering operation.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. September the 11th changed me a lot. In the days
    after the attacks, I went to Ground Zero. On September the 14th, 2001, I
    stood where those buildings used to stand. I'll never forget that day,
    workers in hardhats yelling at me at the top of their lungs, ``Whatever
    it takes.'' I remember the man--I remember one person in particular, who
    grabbed me by the arm. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked me square
    in the eye and he said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since that day,
    I've gotten up every morning thinking about how to better protect our
    country. I will never relent in defending America, whatever it takes.
        There are other things about my opponent's
    positions he doesn't want you to know. I don't know if you remember the
    debate--one of the debates, they were talking about health care. And he
    looked square in the camera and he said, ``My plan--the Government
    doesn't have anything to do with it.'' [Laughter] I could barely contain
    myself. [Laughter]
        The Government has got a lot to do with it. Eighty percent of the
    people in his plan end up on a Government
    plan. You see, if you make it easier for people to get on Medicaid,
    small businesses will drop coverage for their employees because the
    Government will provide the insurance. That's moving people from the
    private sector to the public sector. When the Government starts writing
    the checks, the Government starts making the rules. And when it comes to
    your health care, when the Government starts making the rules, the
    Government starts making your decisions, and they start deciding for the
    docs. Federal control of health care is the wrong prescription for
    American families.
        I've got a better idea. We'll make sure health care is available and
    affordable. We'd take care of the poor and the indigent by expanding
    community health centers across this country. We'll help make sure low-
    income children are signed up for the health programs available for
    them. We're also going to help our families. We'll expand health savings
    accounts so small businesses and families can better afford insurance
    and manage their own account. We will allow small businesses to come
    together so they can buy insurance at the same discounts that big
    companies are able to do.
        And to make sure health care is available and affordable, we're
    going to do something about these frivolous lawsuits that are running up
    the cost of medicine. I have met too many doctors, here in Ohio and
    elsewhere, too many ob-gyns that are getting run out of practice because
    these lawsuits are causing their premiums to go up. And that hurts the
    people of Ohio when that happens. I have met too many expectant moms who
    are worried about the quality of the health care for their baby. See,
    these lawsuits are making it hard for you to afford health care. You
    cannot be pro-doctor and pro-patient and pro-personal-injury-trial-
    lawyer at the same time. You have to choose. My opponent made his choice, and he put a personal-injury trial
    lawyer on the ticket.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. I have made my choice. I'm standing with the patients
    of Ohio. I'm standing with the doctors of Ohio. I am for medical
    liability reform--now.
        The Senator really doesn't want you to
    know where he stands on taxes, because he's going to raise them. Listen,
    to be fair, raising taxes is one of the few things that he has been
    consistent about. You might say he's made a habit of it. He's been in
    the Senate for 20 years. He's voted to raise taxes 98 times.

    [[Page 2796]]

        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. That is five times for every year he's been in the Senate. I would call that a predictable
    pattern, a leading indicator. [Laughter] During the campaign, he's
    promised a lot of new spending, $2.2 trillion of new spending. That's
    trillion with a ``T.'' That's a lot even for a Senator from
    Massachusetts. They asked him how he's going to pay for it, and he said,
    ``That's simple. We'll just tax the rich.'' Most small businesses in
    Ohio pay tax at the individual income tax. One of the reasons why people
    are finding work here is because the small-business sector of your
    economy is strong and getting stronger. Seventy percent of new jobs are
    created by small businesses. And by raising the top two brackets, my
    opponent would be taxing the job creators of Ohio, and that's bad
    economic policy.
        The other thing is, is that by raising the top brackets, you only
    raise between 600 and 800 billion. That is far short of 2.2 trillion. I
    would call that a tax gap. That would be the difference between what
    he has promised to spend and what he can
    deliver. Guess who usually gets to fill the tax gap? You do. But the
    good news is, we're not going to let him tax you; we're going to carry
    Ohio and win nationally on November the 2d.
        You know where I stand when it comes to taxes. When I campaigned for
    the Presidency in 2000, I said we're going to provide our families tax
    relief. I kept my word. We increased the child tax credit to help our
    families. We reduced the marriage penalty. We believe the Tax Code
    should encourage marriage, not penalize marriage. We provided help for
    our small businesses.
        This economy of ours is strong, and it is getting stronger. We're
    growing at rates as fast as any in nearly 20 years. The number of jobs
    have been increased by 1.9 million since August of 2003. The national
    unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. Let me put that in perspective for
    you: That's lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the
    1990s. Ohio's farmers are making a living. The entrepreneurial spirit is
    strong in the State of Ohio. Homeownership rate is at an alltime high.
    More minority families own a home today than ever before in our Nation's
    history.
        I understand times are tough here in Ohio in certain parts of your
    State. I know that. That's why I've been coming to your State, listening
    to people, talking about how to make sure this economy continues to
    grow. The unemployment rate went from 6.3 percent to 6 percent last
    month. Ohio added 5,500 new jobs last month. We're on our way to
    recovery. And the question the Ohio people have got to answer: Who's got
    the plan to make sure this economy continues to grow? I do: Low taxes;
    less regulation; and tort reform.
        When I ran for President 4 years ago, I promised to challenge the
    soft bigotry of low expectations in our public schools. And I kept my
    word. We passed the No Child Left Behind Act. We are spending more money
    for Title I students, trying to help low-income students. But now we're
    asking the question, ``Can you read and write and add and subtract?''
    See, in return for excess money, we want to know whether or not people
    are learning. We believe every child can learn. We believe everybody has
    got potential, and we expect every child to learn in America.
        You cannot solve a problem until you diagnose the problem. And now
    we're diagnosing, and we're beginning to solve them. Math and reading
    scores are going up. The achievement gap amongst minority students is
    closing in America. And we're not going to go back to the old days of
    low expectations and mediocrity in our schoolhouses.
        When I ran for President 4 years ago, I promised to improve Medicare
    by adding prescription drug coverage for our seniors. I kept my word.
    You might remember the old debates of Medicare. They called it ``Medi-
    scare.'' [Laughter] People weren't willing to really take on the issue.
    I took on the issue. I was joined by Senator

    [[Page 2797]]

    Voinovich and Senator DeWine, Congressman Boehner,
    Congressman Turner. We go to Washington to
    do things for the people. Medicare needed to be strengthened. Medicare
    needed to be modernized. You see, Medicare would pay thousands of
    dollars for a heart surgery but not one dime for the prescription drugs
    that could prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the first
    place. That wasn't fair to our seniors. We got the job done, and
    beginning in 2006, all seniors will be able to get prescription drug
    coverage in Medicare.
        My opponent voted against the Medicare
    bill.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. In a new term, I will defend the reforms we have put
    in place and keep our promise to our America's seniors.
        And speaking about our seniors, let me talk about Social Security,
    now that you got me on a roll. [Laughter] When you're out gathering up
    the vote, remind your friends and neighbors that in the 2000 campaign,
    it was said that if George W. got elected, the seniors would not get
    their checks. I don't know if you remember that. It may be happening
    here in Ohio now. You remind them that George W. did get elected, and
    our seniors got their checks. And our seniors will continue to get their
    checks. And baby boomers like me, we'll probably get our checks.
        But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren. We
    need to worry about whether or not Social Security will be there for
    them when they retire. I believe younger workers ought to be allowed to
    take some of their payroll taxes and set up a personal savings account,
    an account they call their own, an account the Government cannot take
    away.
        The job of a President is to confront problems, not to pass them on
    to future Presidents and future generations. My opponent said he's going to protect Social Security, but remind
    your friends and neighbors, he voted eight times to tax Social Security
    benefits.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. And he's offered nothing
    for the younger generation. In a new term, I'll bring Republicans and
    Democrats together to strengthen Social Security for generations to
    come.
        Let me tell you what else we're going to do in a new term. We're
    going to simplify the Tax Code. It is a complicated mess. It's a million
    pages thick. We're going to make it fair for our workers, fair for our
    business, and fair for America.
        Now, there's more to do. I'm asking for your vote because I know
    where I want to lead this country. I see a more hopeful America. I want
    to work with you to make sure our education system fulfills its promise
    and to make sure health care is available and affordable without the
    Federal Government taking it over. I want to make sure we do our duty to
    younger generations of Americans, and I want to continue to work to
    spread freedom and liberty so the world is more peaceful.
        I want you to understand what has taken place in a brief period of
    time, particularly the youngsters who are here. The Taliban ran
    Afghanistan, and young girls could not go to school because they had a
    dark vision of the world. And if their mothers did not toe their
    ideological line of hatred, they would be pulled in the public square
    and whipped and sometimes killed in a sports stadium. These people were
    barbaric people. Because we acted to defend ourselves, because we upheld
    doctrine that said, ``If you harbor a terrorist, you're equally as
    guilty as the terrorist,'' because we acted in our self-interest to
    defend ourselves and eradicated those Al Qaida training camps that were
    in Afghanistan, millions of people were able to go to the polls and vote
    for a President of Afghanistan. And the first voter was a 19-year-old
    woman. Think about that.
        There will be elections in Iraq. Think how far Iraq has come from
    the days of torture chambers and mass graves. Freedom is on the march,
    and we're better off

    [[Page 2798]]

    for it. We believe that people want to be free. Freedom is not America's
    gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and
    woman in this world.
        Over the next 4 years, we've got work to do to make sure our
    families are secure and prosperous and our children are educated. And
    we've also got work to do to defend the values that are important for
    our country. I believe marriage is a sacred commitment. I believe
    marriage and family are the foundations of our society. I believe in a
    culture of life in America. I proudly signed the ban on partial-birth
    abortion. I will name judges who know the difference between personal
    opinion and the strict interpretation of the law.
        My opponent has a different view. He voted
    against the Defense of Marriage Act, and he voted against the ban on
    partial-birth abortion.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. The way I heard it, he says
    he's going to have a litmus test for his judges. He also went on to say
    that, one time in this campaign, that the heart and soul of America can
    be found in Hollywood.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. The heart and soul of America is found in caring
    communities like Dayton, Ohio.
        I'm optimistic about the future of this country. I know we can
    overcome any problem that faces us, because I know the American people.
    I know the strength and courage and compassion of the people who live in
    this land.
        You know, one of my favorite quotes is written by a fellow Texan
    named Tom Lea. He said, ``Sarah and I live on
    the east side of the mountain. It is the sunrise side, not the sunset
    side. It is the side to see the day that is coming, not to see the day
    that is gone.'' You know, in the course of this campaign, my
    opponent has been talking about the day that
    is gone. I'm talking about the day that is coming.
        And I see a great day coming for America. I see a hopeful day. And I
    see the fact that the hard work we've done is paying off. I see peace
    coming as well, peace for our children and our grandchildren.
        You know, when I campaigned across your State, I made this pledge,
    that if I won in 2000, I would uphold the honor and the dignity of the
    office to which I had been elected. With your help, with your hard work,
    I will do so for 4 more years.
        God bless. Thank you for coming. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:10 p.m. at the Hara Complex. In his
    remarks, he referred to Mayor George M. McKelvey of Youngstown, OH;
    Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer of the Supreme Court of Ohio; Mayor Donald
    K. McLaurin of Trotwood, OH; and former President Saddam Hussein of
    Iraq.